Long Beach Airport takes off

March 16, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Gail and Mike Kraus enjoy a sip of wine at the 4th Street Vine wine bar in the North Concourse while recently awaiting their flight to Las Vegas. The Long Beach couple likes the local Long Beach eateries at the airport. "It's up-styled. I love it, " says Mike Kraus. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Air travelers go online with laptops and tablets using free Wi-Fi at the iPad bar in the North Concourse at the Long Beach Airport. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Long Beach Airport is the first West Coast facility to feature a lifelike bilingual projection called AVA (for Advanced Virtual Assistant) that greets travelers and explains what they need to know to pass through security. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Long Beach Marché is a food court in Long Beach Airport's North Concourse. A variety of offerings, including fresh sushi, Mexican cuisine, Greek food and baked goods can be eaten on site or taken on the flight. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A passenger awaits his flight in one of the new concourses at Long Beach Airport. The airport saved money by keeping the stairs for boarding rather than adding the covered jetways used at most other facilities. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A large mural in the new South Concourse of the Long Beach Airport depicts downtown Long Beach. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Long Beach Airport's new concourse features ar plaza where travelers can sit outside on wooden beches while waiting for their flights. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Air travelers wait to embark from Long Beach Airport's new North Concourse. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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An outdoor fire pit at 4th Street Vine is one of the amenities in Long Beach Airport's new North Concourse. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A diner pauses for lunch at McKenna's at Long Beach Airport. In the background is the outdoor plaza linking the new North and South Concourses. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Long Beach Airport terminal check-in area contrasts dramatically with the modern designs of the recently opened North and South Concourses. The airport plans to restore the check-in space to its original 1941 look. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez poses in the new outdoor garden walkway. The courtyard links the two new concourses in the expansion project that was 10 years in the making. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Native plants and palm trees were used at Long Beach Airport's new 35,000- square-foot, eco-friendly concourse. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Apparel and souvenirs with Long Beach and California themes are available at the 562 Experience store in Long Beach Airport's North Concourse. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The South Concourse at Long Beach Airport is part of the expansion project that opened in December. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Modern seating is offered outside the 4th Street Vine wine bar in the North Concourse at the Long Beach Airport. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Long Beach Airport opened its new 35,000 square-foot eco-friendly concourse in December 2012. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Passengers waiting to embark on their flights sit at the iPad bar in the North Concourse at the Long Beach Airport. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A mobile structure housing Long Beach Airport's rental car agencies, in background, will be relocated in the next few years to just north of the terminal. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Benches from the same wood used for the walkways are scattered throughout the new Long Beach Airport concourse. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Air travelers often cite Long Beach Airport as a less crowded alternative to busier facilities in the Los Angeles-Orange County Metro area. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Air travelers can take their freshly prepared sushi to go from the South Concourse at Long Beach Airport. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Long Beach Airport is expanding its "meet and greet" area where people can pick up their deplaning family and friends. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Just over 3.2 million passengers passed through Long Beach Airport's historical terminal in 2012. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Gail and Mike Kraus enjoy a sip of wine at the 4th Street Vine wine bar in the North Concourse while recently awaiting their flight to Las Vegas. The Long Beach couple likes the local Long Beach eateries at the airport. "It's up-styled. I love it, " says Mike Kraus. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Long Beach Airport at a glance

History: Daugherty Field, the first municipal airport in Southern California, opened in 1923. The terminal, designed by architects W. Horace Austin and Kenneth Wing, opened in 1941.

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Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez likes to tell the story about the couple that flew out of the airport in early December and returned mid-month after the new passenger concourse opened.

"I think we're in the wrong place," the woman told her husband, gaping at the new surroundings.

Gone were the 45 trailers that for years served as the passenger waiting and security areas. In their place, a sleek new concourse with a palm-lined outdoor courtyard, sushi counter and an iPad bar greeted travelers.

The 35,000-square-foot concourse is the capstone of a $139 million expansion and rehabilitation project at Long Beach Airport, which handled 3.2 million passengers last year.

"This is so gorgeous," said Gail Krause, 54, who was flying to Las Vegas with her husband this week. "The last time we flew out of here it was so, uh, temporary."

Ten years in the making, the new, improved Long Beach Airport, has arrived.

Rodriguez, a 25-year airport veteran, said he had one goal in mind for the $45 million concourse project – to give travelers the best possible experience within the confines of a municipal airport.

"I didn't want to build a Taj Mahal," said Rodriguez, who has worked at major airports from Miami to Kuwait to Hong Kong. "I wanted to change how you travel."

That meant less emphasis than bigger airports on volume – moving as many people through as possible – and more concentration on the human level by making it as easy and convenient as possible to get from curb to air carrier, while providing a few amenities along the way.

Passengers can now check in, clear security and go directly to their planes without ever entering the historic terminal. A video projection called Ava (for Audio Visual Assistant) – the first outside New York and Boston – welcomes passengers in English and Spanish, instructing them about the security process. Coveted plug-ins for electronics, which travelers vie for at every airport, are now everywhere.

Then there's the food. The airport chose local eateries for its food service. Visitors can select from Long Beach favorites like McKenna's by the Bay (called McKenna's on the Fly), Taco Beach Cantina and George's Greek Café and eat on site or take their food to eat on the plane. The 4th Street Vine wine bar boasts a large selection of wines and tapas, which travelers can enjoy next to an outdoor fire pit. Rodriguez said it's the only fire pit he knows of at an airport. All of them are within the secure area of the terminal.

Security has been streamlined to the point that the average wait is four minutes – maybe seven minutes at peak periods. That poses a problem.

"People think they can arrive 20 minutes before their flight boards," Rodriguez said. "We'd like them to come a little earlier and maybe have lunch."

A long journey

For years, many local travelers valued the circa 1940 airport, variously described as cute and vintage, because they did not have to battle the crowds and traffic at larger facilities such as Los Angeles International Airport. But that convenience came at a price.

"If you have more than an hour wait, this becomes the unforgettable layover at the 'trailer park' airport," wrote one commenter on Yelp.

The airportexpansion faced opposition from people living in nearby homes before the city finally began construction of the new concourse in 2010, just as airlines were consolidating and cutting back flights.

There was also the question of cost. Moody's, the credit rating agency, rated the airport's bonds A2 in its most recent evaluation in 2010. That placed the bonds in the upper medium rating range and indicated a low credit risk.

The report said one potential negative was Long Beach's reliance on JetBlue Airways, which made up 78 percent of all flights. Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines and US Airways are the other carriers.

Moody's, however, noted only 26 percent of airport revenue came from airline fees with concessions, parking, flight schools and other businesses making up the rest. The ratings agency also cited Long Beach's low cost per passenger, which was $5.83 in 2010 compared to the industry median of $7.

Rodriguez said any concerns about revenue proved unfounded. All 41 one of the airport's slots for commercial flights are filled and there's a waiting list if any are relinquished. The offsite parking lots the airport had been leasing were closed when a new 1,989-space parking structure opened in 2011. Now all parking is on site, with daily rates from $17 to $19.

Revenues now are more than twice the amount needed to service the airport's $117 million debt, the airport said.

"We run this airport like a business," said Rodriguez.

The focus on cost control meant a few tradeoffs for passengers. Rodriguez opted against using jetports, the covered bridges most airports have for passenger loading, at the 11 gates. The jetports would have cost $500,000 each but that means on rainy days, passengers get wet going up the outdoor ramps and steps to the airplane. Luggage carousels also remain outdoors.

Moving the parking on site means there is no cheaper, long-term parking available. Rodriguez said the airport's on-site parking is still the lowest in Southern California, but travelers at John Wayne Airport have the option of remote parking at $14 a day and LAX's Parking Lot C costs $12 daily.

Looking ahead

A few more airport projects remain to be completed. Rodriguez said the next step is to restore the terminal to its original look from 1941. Workers have already pulled up the carpeting to reveal the intricate tile work underneath.

Over the next three years, rental car services will be moved just north of the terminal and will be replaced by a new transportation center and airport valet parking.

Rodriguez noted that with the airport's limit on commercial flights and its niche in the local market – primarily jets that seat 150 to 180 passengers – it will never be a big international facility. But he hopes to attract more business travelers, which made up 22 percent of the passengers as of 2010, the most recent data available.

He also would like to attract more business from the northeast. JetBlue now flies to New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.

And what about Hawaii service? Rodriguez said none of the four airlines that serve the airport have discussed service to Hawaii and the jets they currently operate at Long Beach can't make it to the islands.

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